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The History of the iPhone!

With the mobile phone market firmly dominated by smartphones, it is easy to forget the advancements the technology has made. In less than a decade, mobile phones have changed from being used primarily to make calls and send text messages into entertainment devices that have High Definition screens, cross platform and application compatibility and Internet readiness. It was the current market leader, Apple’s iPhone, that kick started this smartphone revolution.

The Market Before The iPhone

The mobile phone market was dominated by companies like Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson for years. With each release of the latest model, many phones had one selling point and not much else. Whether it be a mp3 player, the highest megapixel phone on the market or different apps, different features were split between different phones and different companies.

The First True Smartphone

When it was first released in 2007, the iPhone was arguably the first phone to roll all the new features of mobile phone technology into one device. It featured an accelerometer, camera and high resolution screen, but perhaps the most important feature of the first iPhone was its fully functional and responsive touch screen. Other phones had previously implemented types of touch screen technology, but they were either unresponsive, dependent on a stylus or only usable on a small portion of the screen. The iPhone had the first full touch screen that was responsive and could recognise different gestures and motions. This innovation alone set it apart from other competitors.

Advancements With the 3G

The iPhone 3G was the second iPhone model and was released in 2008. The iPhone 3G featured a massive change in the way that the device would be used: the app store. Apple announced that apps would be important to mobile phone technology, and users would be able to quickly and cheaply purchase and install new software on their devices. Although limited upon release, the range and choice of apps would one day be varied and unparalleled. The 3G model also introduced GPS and 3G data capabilities, which enabled faster downloads and the use of real-time maps. A year later the iPhone 3GS was released, offering video recording and a faster processor, amongst other features.

The iPhone 4

Released in 2010, the iPhone 4 redesigned the shape and appearance of the phone. The previous rounded shape of the phone was replaced with a more square and sturdy design. The device’s antenna was built into the new stainless steel frame and the high definition ‘retina’ display was implemented, enabling much greater resolutions to be displayed. A popular new feature was the addition of the front-facing camera. This enabled users to have video-chats through the Facetime app.

iPhones Today

The latest iPhone model, the 4S, was released in 2011. The camera now has full HD recording and playback capabilities and the screen can display higher resolutions than ever before. The new dual-core A5 processor makes it faster than ever before, and users can enjoy the new voice recognition software ‘Siri’. Siri can be issued commands and can also use the Internet to answer any questions posed by the user. From the latest weather forecast to general trivia, Siri is a helpful feature which adds real personality to the phone.

Over 5 years since the release of its first model, Apple’s iPhone is still one of the leading smartphones on the market. With phone tariffs getting lower per month it continues to find new users.

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